Ashley Yoder

Background

Yoder was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. At the age of three, her parents got divorced. and she and her brother were raised by her mother. During her high school years, Yoder was involved in cheerleading, dance and competed in track and field. She attended Indiana University and received two Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice and African American Diaspora Studies. Prior to starting to fight professionally, Yoder worked as a lifeguard.

On her 18th birthday, Yoder lost her brother in a car accident, followed by the death of her cousin two years later. She started training in MMA after a friend introduced her to the combat sport. Yoder only fell in love with mixed martial arts after she had her first fight. Prior to that, she mainly used MMA as a channel to vent out her anger of the loss of her brother.

Yoder participated in the UFC The Ultimate Fighter 20 tryout, but did not make the cut to be a cast member. She attempted to make it into the show again in April 2016, trying out for TUF 23. Yoder was chosen to appear on that season of TUF, and was signed by UFC later that year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Yoder fought most of her fights in the California circuit under BAMMA USA, Invicta and Gladiator Challenge promotions and amassed a record of 5-1 prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Yoder made her promotional debut on December 9, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov in Albany, New York against Justine Kish. At the weight-in Kish came in at 116.4 Ibs, over the strawweight limit of 116 Ibs, and she was fined 20% of her pay to Yoder. She lost the fight via unanimous decision with the scorecards 29-28 across the board.

Yoder was scheduled to face Yan Xiaonan on October 26, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 20. However, Yan pulled out of the fight in late-September citing a foot injury. She was replaced by Randa Markos. She lost the fight via split decision.